Three Butchers

Alternative title: Three Jolly Butchers

This ballad dates back to the 1670s as ‘The Three Worthy Butchers of The North’. It was rewritten c1690 and this version continued to be printed into the eighteenth century. Later shorter versions were printed on nineteenth century broadsides and by then the ballad was well established in oral tradition, judging by the great variety of versions. It is known on both sides of the Atlantic.